Primary Areas of Practice

David Luck is a partner in the Miami office of Lewis Brisbois and is a member of the Appellate Practice. David focuses on appeals and appellate trial support in federal court, Florida state court, and various jurisdictions in which he has been admitted pro hac vice. He has argued appeals in the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court, and Florida's District Courts of Appeal.

In addition to handling appeals, he provides pre-trial, trial, and post-trial civil litigation support in federal and Florida state court, including drafting and arguing complex pre-trial motions, case-dispositive motions, jury instructions and verdict forms, and post-trial motions.

David frequently publishes and speaks on matters pertaining to developments and changes in appellate litigation. He is a member of the Florida Bar's Appellate Court Rules Committee, the American Bar Association, the Dade County Bar Association, and the Dade County Defense Bar Association.

David has been selected as a finalist for the Miami Daily Business Review's Most Effective Lawyers Award and has been chosen for inclusion as a Florida Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2013-2018.

Before entering private practice, David served as a law clerk to Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis (2007-09) and as a legal intern to Judge David L. Levy on Florida's Third District Court of Appeal (2005).

"A Legal Guessing Game: Does U.S. Common Law Require Manufacturers and Suppliers of Consumer Products to Warn in Languages Other Than English?" The Defense Counsel, International Association of Defense Counsel (Apr. 2012).

Presented analysis and summary of the Supreme Court's decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012), upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare") for the ABA Young Lawyers Division Teleconference on 2011-12 Decisions of the United States Supreme Court, (July 13, 2012).

Eustache v. State, 248 So. 3d 1097 (Fla. 2018). In a pro-bono criminal appeal, obtained a new sentencing proceeding for our client, who had previously been sentenced as a Youthful Offender.

Thomas v. Bethune-Cookman Univ., Inc., 250 So. 3d 79 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018). On appeal, successfully defended the entry of a final summary judgment in favor of the university in a case involving alleged fraternity hazing. The Fifth District affirmed an order holding that the university owed no duty in tort regarding the off-campus meeting and car accident at issue.

Vancelette v. Boulan S. Beach Condo. Ass’n, 229 So. 3d 398 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017). In a personal-injury action brought against a developer, its contractors, and a successor condominium association, obtained affirmance of final defense summary judgments under Florida’s Slavin doctrine. This doctrine shifts the duty of care, post-construction, to the accepting owner to correct a patent, potential hazard on its property.

A/R Assist, Inc. v. Gray, 221 So. 3d 616 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). After a jury returned a multi-million-dollar verdict against our clients in an alleged trade-secrets action, obtained the post-trial grant of a directed verdict exonerating these defendants and successfully defended that result on appeal.

Garcia v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co., 807 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2015). Obtained reversal of multi-million-dollar bad-faith verdict and judgment entered against an insurer on the grounds that the trial court improperly excluded evidence regarding the development of the law on the underlying coverage issue. Case remanded for a new trial.

Edwards v. Pilatus Aircraft, Ltd., No. 8:14-cv-1326-T-36MAP, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183999 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 13, 2015). Obtained an order dismissing a Swiss aviation manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary from an alleged wrongful-death action in Florida, in favor of transfer to federal district court in Colorado, where the U.S. subsidiary is based.

Ojeda v. 50 State Sec. Servs., 145 So. 3d 848 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014). Successfully defended a final defense summary judgment on appeal based on the conclusion that the security guards at a Miami-Dade Metrorail station owed no duty of care to prevent a criminal attack outside the Metrorail station, on a public sidewalk, and outside the guards’ established area of patrol.

Weitz Co., LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., 982 F. Supp. 2d 975 (S.D. Iowa 2013), aff’d, 786 F.3d 641 (8th Cir. 2015). In the Southern District of Iowa, obtained a defense summary judgment where the plaintiff general contractor improperly attempted to obtain a $50-million-plus double recovery in equity against a project owner’s post-construction property insurers. The general contractor was previously sued for its materially deficient construction of the project in the Southern District of Florida. It settled with the project owner after having recovered several million dollars more from its liability insurers, subcontractors, and their liability insurers. As part of the appellate team in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, defended the entry of this summary judgment and obtained affirmance.

Henry v. State, 175 So. 3d 675 (Fla. 2015). Represented an indigent juvenile non-homicide offender before the Florida Supreme Court, including briefing and oral argument. Appeal involved an Eighth Amendment challenge to a 90-year sentence based on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010). The Florida Supreme Court ruled, unanimously, in favor of the pro-bono client, holding that his 90-year aggregate sentence was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment as construed in Graham.

Ford Motor Co. v. Stimpson, 115 So. 3d 401 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). Overturned a JNOV and new-trial order issued below that had been predicated on unsupported findings of “fraud on the court,” an incorrect rejection of expert testimony, and an incorrect characterization of defense closing argument as improper.

Bank of Am., N.A. v. Smith, 72 So. 3d 765 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). On appeal, defended a verdict and judgment in favor of an estate and the estate’s personal representative based on a financial institution’s unreasonable refusal to honor a durable power of attorney.